CAIRO – Egypt's state news agency says a drive-by shooting on a desert road in the country's north has killed two soldiers and wounded three.

Monday's report by MENA says the attack took place on the road to the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, when gunmen from a speeding car opened fire at a military checkpoint on Sunday evening.

A similar checkpoint attack last week in Ismailia also killed two soldiers. The city is 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

A militant group calling itself Ansar Beit al-Maqdis — Arabic for Partisans of Jerusalem — has been active in the area, attacking military and police targets. The group also claimed responsibility for last month's bombing of a military intelligence compound in Ismailia.